Meera Syal to receive BAFTA Fellowship
Meera Syal is to be presented with a BAFTA Fellowship at the organisation's Television Awards ceremony next month.
The academy bestows the tribute "in recognition of an outstanding and exceptional contribution to film, games or television".
The Goodness Gracious Me and The Kumars At No. 42 star, who was BAFTA-nominated for the latter series, said: "I am thrilled and honoured to be the recipient of the BAFTA Fellowship. I am particularly delighted that this year's award is twinned with opportunities to mentor and support participants in BAFTA's learning programme - where I hope to engage with many talented practitioners and continue working to make Bafta a truly representative and celebratory place for all our creatives.
"And I am grateful for the chance to pay forward the opportunities and experiences I have been lucky enough to have over my career."
Syal has just completed filming of the Acorn TV comedy-drama Mrs Sidhu Investigates, reprising her role from the Radio 4 series of the same name as the eponymous Indian chef who moonlights as a detective.
BAFTA's chief executive Jane Millichip said: "Meera Syal has made an extraordinary impact on the screen and literary arts.
"As an actor and writer, she is an exceptional storyteller with enormous range, which means she is loved by peers and the public as much as she is critically acclaimed. At BAFTA, we very much look forward to working with Meera over the next year on her mentoring scheme."
BAFTA Fellows who have previously been honoured for their work in television include Billy Connolly, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders.
The BAFTA Television Awards are being hosted by Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan and will air on BBC One on Sunday 14th May.